As Kylie Jenner battles over Stormi's name, a look at the billionaire’s obsession with trademarking
There’s a legal battle brewing over a brand name and Kylie Jenner and her daughter Stormi Webster are in the middle of it. According to reports, Jenner is going after a company called Business Moves Consulting that filed to trademark the name “Stormi Couture” a month after Stormi was born in 2018.
Jenner reportedly applied for trademarking “StormiWorld” in February 2019. But Business Moves Consulting filed a lawsuit against her claiming that her brand name would be confused with their own, which they had trademarked first. Per TMZ, Jenner is now asking the trademark office to cancel Business Moves Consulting’s “Stormi Couture” trademark, claiming the company was fraudulent in its application and only got the trademark to capitalize on her daughter's name.
Jenner, per the report, claims Stormi has “achieved fame in her own right”, and pointed out that her “StormiWorld” birthday parties have been covered by major media outlets, adding that Stormi's cosmetic line has already become hugely popular. Per the legal documents filed by Jenner, obtained by TMZ, “The Stormi name is well known, and uniquely and unmistakably is associated with Stormi Webster.”
Whether or not Jenner’s claims trump those of Business Moves Consulting is only something we can guess right now. But what is interesting to note is Jenner’s obsession with trademarking things. A 2019 report on Cheatsheet noted that Jenner had applied for the use of “Kylie Baby” for a line that includes skincare products, blankets, accessories, and furniture. She also applied to trademark “Kylie Hair” for a line of shampoos, conditioners, oils, dyes, and more.
She also applied for trademarks on her name to be used for a liquor line, restaurants, bars, cocktail lounges, a nail line, furniture, home accessories, kitchenware, cookware, dining ware, food and drink products, and more. Earlier this year, Jenner even trademarked her hair.
And if you thought only Kylie Jenner seems to have a trademark obsession, you’re wrong. Between the whole Jenner-Kardashian clan of socialites, TV personalities, and entrepreneurs, there are over 700 trademarks. According to a 2019 Forbes report, Kylie Jenner then had 128 trademarks that included Kybrow, Kylash, Kylighter, Kyshadow.
Speaking to Forbes, Jana Gouchev, a Manhattan-based trademark attorney, said, “They (the Jenners and the Kardashians) don’t necessarily know what they’re going to market, so they want to protect those proactively. Anything you’d put the Kardashian name has so much value because of that name, so that’s why they want to protect in any category possible they can think of. Because they don’t want anyone else to infringe on their trademark.”
In September 2019, Jenner, in an interview with Playboy, explained the reason she filed for the trademarks: She wants to be prepared just in case.
“I haven’t started on wine and bed linens, but I think you probably overheard us trademarking everything in different categories so that if I ever decide to come out with wine or bed linens, it’ll be set up,” Jenner told Playboy. “After we built Kylie Cosmetics, I feel like I found a passion in building from the ground up and creating businesses and new companies. Now that I know the whole process really well, it comes easily to me and it’s really fun and definitely a passion of mine. I can’t wait to keep expanding and creating new things."
